When you imagine a soldier in the army two or three centuries ago, it is impossible to imagine him without a uniform that would not be crossed by straps and held a sword or firearm. Indeed, the harness and often the holster were an invariable part of the uniform at that time. But their fate was different, because, despite the fact that they came from the same kind of troops and practically at the same time, one attribute is actively used today, but the second has faded into history, with the exception of the ceremonial uniform.
The first in the uniforms of warriors was the harness. Moreover, the etymology of the term directly indicates the place where it was first used: the word comes from the merger of two French words porter - "to wear" and épée - "sword". This is not surprising: the harness owes its appearance to the legendary European horsemen without fear and reproach, namely to the knights - they came up with the idea of wearing a sling for cold weapons. And already from France, this attribute spread throughout Europe.
In Russia, the harness appeared at the time of Peter the Great, who, in particular, this element of ammunition was introduced in the so-called "regiments of a foreign system." Of course, they did not carry a sword in their hands before, but there was no talk of a sword belt - it appeared among the officers and non-commissioned officers around 1705 - during the active phase of Peter's military reforms.
The harness was used to carry a checker, saber, sword, cleaver or bayonet. With the advent of firearms, a revolver and a pistol were added to this list. Russian hussars could also carry the so-called tashka - a small cavalry leather bag, which over time was transformed into a modern officer's tablet.
Interesting fact: not all belts on a military uniform are considered a harness. So, for example, the old uniform included a leather belt with two thinner straps that went under the shoulder straps. But these slinges cannot be called a harness: in fact, this is a set of hiking belts - binoculars in a case, a flask, as well as various types of pouches are attached to them.
As for the holster, it also gained popularity from the cavalry troops, but the term this time came from the opposite direction. The Turkish word kubur meant a leather cover that was attached to the front of the rider's saddle: a bow was worn in it. Later, after the advent of firearms, the holster began to be used specifically for revolvers and pistols.
But in the Russian Empire, the holster appeared relatively recently in relation to other states - during the reign of Emperor Alexander I, and was entrenched during the Patriotic War of 1812. Moreover, not everyone began to wear it: for example, infantrymen continued to carry short-barreled weapons in their belts. Those who used the holster called it differently - pistol, pig, rifle head, and also "olstra" or "ostryad".
The holster has become so firmly established in the uniform of soldiers that it is actively used to this day in most branches of the armed forces, and also had its own classification. But the harness is no longer so popular: in some places the won is still used during service, but in most cases it is used only as an attribute of the dress uniform.
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